MacRumors

At its media event earlier this week, Apple noted that it had increased the battery capacity of the iPhone 5c relative to the iPhone 5, and the company's tech specs show that users can expect longer for battery life on both the iPhone 5s and 5c for certain tasks.

In particular, both new iPhones offer up to 10 hours of talk time on 3G and the same 10 hours of LTE Internet use, up from 8 hours for both tasks on the iPhone 5. Standby time on the two new models has also increased to up to 250 hours compared to 225 hours on the iPhone 5.

Apple has not, however, revealed the exact battery capacity for the new iPhones, but AnandTech dug into the FCC documents and discovered that the iPhone 5c carries 5% higher battery capacity than the iPhone 5, while the iPhone 5s carries a 10% larger battery.

While I'm somewhat skeptical sometimes of the accuracy of battery capacities as reported in FCC disclosures (which I noted about the battery size for the Nexus 5), these numbers seem credible given what I've heard, the statement Apple made during the keynote about the 5C battery size going up, and what I'd expect with some board re-layout for the 5S.

The iPhone 5s number reported in the FCC documents is close but not identical to what was seen on a leaked December 2012 prototype. The battery in that device was listed as 5.92 Whr, while the FCC documents report a capacity of 5.96 Whr.

The documents report a capacity of 5.73 Whr for the iPhone 5c battery, which matches that seen in photos of the part posted by C Technology today.

Pre-orders for the iPhone 5c begin at 12:01 AM Pacific Time tomorrow morning, with availability of both the iPhone 5s and 5c set for Friday, September 20. Apple is not offering pre-orders for the iPhone 5s.

While Apple announced at yesterday's media event that pre-orders for the iPhone 5c will begin on Friday, September 13, the company has not yet specified at what time it will begin taking orders. Information from U.S. carrier partners Verizon and Sprint indicates, however, that the pre-orders should go live at roughly midnight Pacific Time on Friday morning.

Given that Apple and its U.S. carrier partners typically begin pre-orders at the same time and the timing published by Verizon and Sprint is in line with that seen for the past several iPhone releases, it seems likely that the coordinated launch will once again take place at that time.

Verizon's pre-order information, available on the "Why Verizon?" tab of the carrier's iPhone 5s/5c feature page, allows potential customers to sign up for email updates on availability of the two new iPhones and states that pre-orders will be going live at 3:01 AM Eastern Time (12:01 AM Pacific Time) on September 13, but does not mention that those pre-orders are limited to the iPhone 5c models. Apple will not be offering pre-orders for the iPhone 5s ahead of its September 20 launch, and the company's carrier partners will undoubtedly be following Apple's lead.

Sprint has posted similar information on its website, announcing a 2:00 AM Central Time launch for iPhone 5c pre-orders, which corresponds to midnight Pacific Time.

Outside the United States, pre-orders for the iPhone 5c will also be going live on Friday for customers in the following countries: Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore and the UK. Apple's pre-order timing is likely to be the same for all countries, so customers should check their time zone conversions from Pacific Time. Local carriers may also have different pre-order start times in those countries.

(Thanks, Daniel!)

Amid fears about the security of Apple's new Touch ID fingerprint sensor, an Apple spokesman has told The Wall Street Journal that the phone will only store the data used to recognize fingerprints, rather than actual images

Apple's new iPhone 5S, which comes with a fingerprint scanner, won't store actual images of users' fingerprints on the device, a company spokesman confirmed Wednesday, a decision that could ease concerns from privacy hawks.

Rather, Apple's new Touch ID system only stores "fingerprint data," which remains encrypted within the iPhone's processor, a company representative said Wednesday.

In practice, this means that even if someone cracked an iPhone's encrypted chip, they likely wouldn't be able to reverse engineer someone’s fingerprint.

Announced yesterday, Touch ID is a new security feature built into the home button of the iPhone 5s, designed to allow users to unlock their phones and authorize iTunes purchases with a finger scan. The sensor captures a high-resolution image of a fingerprint, analyzing it to provide accurate readings.

During its Touch ID presentation, Apple was quick to specify that all fingerprint information is encrypted and stored "in the Secure Enclave inside the A7 chip on the iPhone 5s" rather than being stored on Apple servers or backed up to iCloud. Developers are also not being provided with access to user fingerprints as a means of authentication.

Apple also gave the The Wall Street Journal a few other tips on the fingerprint sensor, noting that it occasionally malfunctions with moist fingers or fingers scarred by accidents and surgery. The company also explained that Touch ID must be supplemented with a passcode.

Apple customers who wish the use Touch ID also have to create a passcode as a backup. Only that passcode (not a finger) can unlock the phone if the phone is rebooted or hasn’t been unlocked for 48 hours. This feature is meant to block hackers from stalling for time as they try to find a way to circumvent the fingerprint scanner.

The iPhone 5s, with the new Touch ID functionality, is set to be released to consumers on September 20. Apple is not accepting pre-orders for the device.

Apple is planning to release updated Apple TV hardware next month, according to the well-connected MG Siegler. The TechCrunch writer tweeted earlier today:

The Apple TV box is well overdue for a update, having gone 553 days since a major release, though the Apple TV box was given a stealth update earlier this year that did not affect any functionality.

The Apple TV will receive a software update alongside iOS 7 next week that will allow users to play their purchased iTunes content on Apple TV's that are owned by others.

Mark Gurman is reporting separately that Apple has been testing Xbox Kinect-like motion control for televisions, though he says it is unclear when if this will make its way to the Apple TV set-top box or is being held for a standalone Apple television set.

Mysterious shipment records indicating 'set-top box' shipments were spotted earlier this month that could be a new Apple TV box. Apple is planning to unveil the next versions of the iPad and iPad mini in October, so this would be a likely time for an Apple TV update as well.

Following yesterday's introduction of the iPhone 5s, a new GFXbench result showing partial graphic benchmarking results has appeared revealing significant improvements compared to the iPhone 5 on the Egypt HD 2.5 test (via @nerdtalker and @anexanhume).

A comparison between the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5 on the Egypt benchmark show a significant increase in frame rate for the iPhone 5s, with the offscreen 1080p score moving from 29.8 fps to 56.0 fps and the onscreen score improving from 41.1 fps to 53.0 fps.

Certainly there are some caveats associated with the benchmark given that it includes only a single test and a need for developers to optimize their apps for the new 64-bit A7 architecture with support for OpenGL ES version 3.0 in the iPhone 5s will undoubtedly yield differing levels of improvement in real-world situations. Still, based on this single snapshot it appears the graphics performance will indeed see a significant improvement in the new device.

Apple's operations department is currently overseeing the shipment of millions of iPhones to nine countries around the world for a launch event on September 20. The iPhone 5c and 5s will go on sale simultaneously in the U.S., Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore, and the UK.

Bloomberg examined how Apple manages such a rollout and the logistical operation it uses to get the phones where they need to be.

Apple moves finished iPhones from Foxconn and Pegatron factories to shipping companies with a protective security detail. Then they are loaded onto airplanes via "pre-bought airfreight space" including former Russian military transports and, for shipments to the U.S., aboard FedEx Boeing 777 freight planes, like the one pictured above.

Bloomberg says the company makes constant adjustments to iPhone shipments based on real-time product demand. Apple organizes teams from sales, marketing, operations and finance to estimate how many devices will be needed, and millions of phones are shipped to distribution hubs around the world ahead of the public announcement of the launch.

Before Apple's formal unveiling on stage, iPhones are shipped to distribution centers around the world, including Australia, China, the Czech Republic, Japan, Singapore, the U.K. and the U.S., said one of the people with knowledge of the matter. Security personnel are with the devices every step of the way, from truck depots, airports, customs and storage warehouses until the product is finally unveiled, two people said.

FedEx ships Apple handsets to the U.S. mainly using Boeing 777s, according to Satish Jindel, a logistics-industry consultant and president of SJ Consulting Group. Those planes can make the 15-hour flight from China to the main U.S. hub for freight shipments in Memphis, Tennessee, without refueling, Jindel said. The 777s can carry about 450,000 iPhones and cost about $242,000 to charter, with fuel accounting for more than half the expense.

After the new product launch, Apple continues to "manage the flow of orders from people looking for a specific color [or] memory size". The iPhone 5s will come in 3 colors and 3 capacities, while the 5c has 5 colors and 2 capacities -- not to mention different models for each carrier around the world.

By monitoring sales from its retail stores, website and third-party resellers, Apple reallocates handsets based on where demand is strongest, one of the people said. iPhones coming off the assembly line in China originally destined for retail stores in Europe could be used to fill a bump in online orders, for instance. The process involves crunching a lot of data.

The iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c will go on sale in 9 countries on September 20. The iPhone 5c will be available for preorder on September 13.

(Image courtesy Flickr/BriYYZ)

Apple appears to have removed iCloud Keychain support from the iOS 7 Golden Master (GM), which was seeded to developers yesterday. While iCloud preferences previously listed iCloud Keychain, the option has now been removed, suggesting that the initial public release of iOS 7 will not include the function.

iCloud Keychain is also newly tagged as "Coming soon" on Apple's iOS 7 feature page and while it is unclear why it has been removed from the GM, it is likely that Apple has chosen to provide the feature alongside OS X Mavericks, which is slated to be released later this year.

First introduced at WWDC, iCloud Keychain is Apple’s new cross-device password manager, designed to share and store passwords across all of Apple’s products running iOS 7 and OS X Mavericks. In addition to passwords, iCloud Keychain also stores website logins, credit card information, and Wi-Fi networks.

While Mavericks will not be available until later in the fall, iOS 7 will be released to the public on September 18, ahead of the release of both the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 5c.

As noted late last week, Apple will indeed be releasing a major software update for the Apple TV in the near future. While that update was not mentioned at yesterday's media event, it will be arriving next week on September 18, the same day Apple is scheduled to release iOS 7 to the public, reports AllThingsD.

The new report repeats the previous observation that a notable new feature in the software update will be a change to allow purchased content from the iTunes Store to be played directly on Apple TVs that do not own the content. This is a change from the current system which requires users to load the content onto mobile devices for playback on an Apple TV via AirPlay.

The one new feature I’m aware of is a tweak to Apple’s Airplay system. I didn’t do a great job of explaining this before, so here’s another stab: The new software will allow people who have purchased content from Apple’s iTunes store to play that stuff on other people’s TVs, via its Airplay system.

The key part is that they will be able to tell an Apple TV box they don’t own to stream the media they do own, directly from the cloud. That’s a change from the current system, which requires users to download stuff to their iPhones and iPads and fling it to the TV from there. It also echoes the way Google’s new Chromecast device works.

While Apple did not debut a new model of the Apple TV at yesterday’s iPhone media event, the company has made numerous updates to the device, including the recent addition of new apps for Vevo, The Weather Channel, the Disney Channel, the Smithsonian Channel, and more. Currently, the Apple TV retails for $99 and is sold through Apple’s online and traditional retail stores.

A Chinese regulatory body has given Apple the final license necessary for the iPhone to run on China Mobile’s wireless standard, reports The Wall Street Journal. The approval comes after Apple’s announcement yesterday of the new iPhone 5s and lower-cost iPhone 5c, both of which support the TD-LTE standard used by China Mobile, the world’s biggest carrier with over 700 million users.

According to the website of China's Telecom Equipment Certification Center Wednesday, Apple received what's called a "network access license" for a handset resembling the iPhone that runs on the mobile standards used by China Mobile for third and fourth generation cellular services. Other licenses were given to Apple for handsets running the technology used by both China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd. and China Telecom Corp.

A deal between China Mobile and Apple has reportedly long been in the works, with China Mobile Chairman Xi Guohua and Apple CEO Tim Cook meeting in July to discuss “matters of cooperation”, with the former indicating that he felt optimistic about a potential deal leading up to the announcement of the new phones. Last week, The Wall Street Journal also reported that Apple was preparing to ship the new lower-cost iPhone 5c to the carrier, suggesting a deal between the two companies had indeed been reached.

The new iPhone 5s and the lower-cost iPhone 5c will be available in stores in China, the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore, and the UK starting on September 20.

Apple has released three new videos for the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c on its YouTube channel. The videos first debuted earlier today during the company's iPhone media event in Cupertino, where the new iPhones were announced.

The first of the three videos introduces the colorful, lower-cost iPhone 5c, with Jony Ive explaining that Apple believes the iPhone "is an experience" the company is continuing to refine.

The second video features Apple SVPs Dan Riccio and Craig Federighi detailing the improvements in both the hardware and software of the iPhone 5s' new iSight camera, including Burst Mode, Slo-Mo video recording, and True Tone flash.

The final video depicts Ive and Riccio explaining the innovation behind the new Touch ID fingerprint sensor, detailing not only how much "care" and "consideration" Apple put into adding the sensor, but also the technology behind it.

Both the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c will be available to consumers on September 20. Apple will begin accepting pre-orders for the iPhone 5c on September 13, but will not accept pre-orders for the iPhone 5s. The 16Gb iPhone 5c will be available for $99 on a two-year contract while the 16GB iPhone 5s will be available for $199 on a two-year contract.

After announcing the new iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c this morning, Tim Cook sent an email about the new products to Apple employees, reports 9to5Mac.

The email focuses primarily on the new features coming with iOS 7, and details some of the components of the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 5c. iOS 7 has been engineered with "deep integration" for both of Apple's upcoming phones.

Team:

Today is an important day for Apple. Many of you and your coworkers have been hard at work developing the new iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c, which are the result of incredible collaboration between hardware and software which only Apple can deliver. In the weeks and months to come, especially as we approach the holidays, our Retail teams will help millions of customers experience these amazing products for the first time. We are also thrilled to be launching iOS 7 next Wednesday.

In addition to the stunning new user interface you saw previewed at WWDC, iOS 7 has been engineered with deep integration with both iPhone 5s and 5c including advanced 64-bit technologies in iPhone 5s. iOS 7 will ship with iTunes Radio, our free Internet radio service, and we are making our mobile iLife and iWork apps available as free downloads for anyone who buys a new iOS device so they can do amazing things with their photos, videos, documents, spreadsheets and presentations.

We made these announcements in Town Hall here in Cupertino this morning. It is a small venue which limits our ability to show the keynote live across campus and to other locations as we like to do. The event is now available to stream on apple.com, so I hope you will take time to watch it. We've also posted a Q&A with Greg Joswiak on AppleWeb about the new products and the work behind them. I hope you are as excited about the new iPhone lineup as I am. Our teams do an incredible job taking complex, cutting-edge technology and making it simple for our customers. That's something everyone at Apple can be proud of.

Cook's email clarifies that iWork and iLife will be free only with newly purchased devices and encourages Apple employees to watch the event stream on Apple.com. Cook also notes that the company has posted an internal Q&A with Apple VP of iPod, iPhone, and iOS Worldwide Marketing Greg Joswiak, which includes information about the new products and the manufacturing behind them.

Apple's iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c will be released on September 20, with pre-orders beginning on September 13 for the 5c. iOS 7 is set to be released on September 18.

Update: 9to5Mac posted a copy of the Q&A session with Greg Joswiak, which focuses on innovation at Apple and the features found in Apple's newest iPhones.